ERIC Number: EJ1196970
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Nov
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2381-3369
EISSN: N/A
Coerced Literacies: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Volunteered Skills Training in Prison
Litchfield, Kathrina
Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, v67 n1 p394-409 Nov 2018
Without standardized access to higher education, incarcerated learners take advantage of the opportunities provided by local and national volunteer organizations for their postsecondary education. Toastmasters International describes itself as an educational nonprofit organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills, which now expands its clubs into state and federal prisons. A Midwest region's district distributes a pamphlet that encourages Toastmaster members to volunteer time and money to support these prison clubs. Critical discourse analysis techniques are used to explore how language in this volunteer pamphlet appropriates social control, refigures prisoner identity, and positions learners through a deficit model of cognitive behavioral correctives. While this article examines only a single public text, my findings caution volunteer organizations to thoughtfully consider the assumptions and constructs they import when they enter the prison with intentions to rehabilitate or educate its residents.
Descriptors: Discourse Analysis, Institutionalized Persons, Correctional Institutions, Volunteers, Access to Education, Higher Education, Nonprofit Organizations, Clubs, Financial Support, Language Usage, Printed Materials, Social Control, Self Concept, Cognitive Restructuring, Behavior Modification, Correctional Rehabilitation, Correctional Education, Criticism
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A